JR East has decided to divide JR East into two regional passes, JR East Pass Niigata and Nagano, and JR East Pass Tohoku. Current JR East pass will be discontinued in the end of March and these two JR East passes will be on sale. In this post, I would like to explain one of these passes, JR East Pass Niigata and Nagano in this post. Continue reading
This brand new pass will be released in April, 2016. This pass covers Narita airport, Greater Tokyo, Gala Yuzawa, Nikko, whole part of Tohoku region, Hakodate, Otaru, Noboribetsu, Lake Toya and Sapporo. You also may use this pass to get Lake Kawaguchi and Hakone even though this pass covers these trips partially. You cannot use this pass to get central, northern and eastern Hokkaido, such as Furano, Asahikawa, Shiretoko, Kushiro. Japan Rail Pass (a.k.a. JR Pass) is better choice if you intend to visit these places.
In this post, I would like to show you the detail of this pass. And I show you some sample rate and compare the pass value and single fares. You may find this suits your plan or not. Continue reading
Tokyo Wide Pass is currently sold as Kanto Area Pass. This pass will be remodeled and will be sold as Tokyo Wide Pass on December 1, 2015. It covers Tokyo and surrounding area, such as Mt. Fuji, Izu peninsula, or Nikko. Echigo-Yuzawa will be covered by Tokyo Wide Pass but it is not by Kanto Area Pass.
Tokyo Wide Pass will be sold at the higher price on December 1st, 2015 but the coverage ares will be bigger. I would like to show you about this pass and also I talk about the difference between Tokyo Wide Pass and Kanto Area Pass. Continue reading
Shinshu region is located in the heart of Japan. You might have heard Nagano where held winter Olympic games in 1998. There are lost of popular cities in this region, such as Nagano, Karuizawa and Matsumoto. And also Shinano-Omachi is well known as the gate way station to Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine route. Hakuba is very popular ski resort in winter season.
In this post, I summarize train access information to Shinshu and surrounding areas. You can find the information about access to Shinshu region from Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kanazawa and Toyama. Continue reading
There are so many hot springs in Japan. Kusatsu Onsen is located in northern part of Gunma. It is well known as one of the most three famous hot springs in Japan. Other two are Arima Hot Springs in Hyogo and Gero Hot Springs in Gifu.
In this post, I would like to share the information about access to Kusatsu Onsen with you. Continue reading
Are you going to stay in Tokyo for several days? Do you have any plans to go outside of Tokyo, like Mt. Fuji, Izu peninsula, or Nikko when you stay in Tokyo? If so, this newest rail pass, Kanto Area Pass should be suitable for you!
This brand new pass has been started to sell from JR East in December, 2011. The price is only 8,000 yen for unlimited train trip in 3 consecutive days. I will show where you can go by this pass and compare this Kanto Area Pass, JR Pass and JR East Pass. Continue reading
This Shinkansen services are operated between Tokyo and 1988 Olympic winter game host city, Nagono via Ueno, Omiya, Takasaki and Karuizawa. This Shinkansen will be extended to Kanazawa by 2014 and this route is the original plan. This Shinkansen share the rail with Joetsu Shinkansen between Omiya and Takasaki. If you travel from Niigata to Nagano, you can transfer to Shinkansen at Takasaki station.
*Nagano Shinkansen will be extended to Kanazawa as Hokuriku Shinkansen on 14 March 2015. Please see the post about Hokuriku Shinkansen to see the details. Continue reading
Tokyo (from US$16)
Kyoto (from US$21)
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Haneda Airport
Asakusa|Shinjuku
Fukuoka|Sapporo
Mt. Fuji|Takayama
Kanazawa|Hiroshima
And many more hotels in more than 600 cities throughout Japan!